Letters of a German American Farmer: Juernjakob Swehn Travels to America

by Johannes Gillhoff

Book Overview

Early in the twentieth century, drawing upon the hundreds of letters written to his father by students who had emigrated to northeastern Iowa from Mecklenburg, in northeastern Germany, Johannes Gillhoff created the composite character of Juernjakob Swehn: the archetype of the upright, honest mensch who personified the German immigrant, on his way to a better life through ambition and hard work. Gillhoff's farmer-hero, planting and harvesting his...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877457069
• ISBN13: 9780877457060
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: University of Iowa Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Immigrant's Experience - A good life

I first read this book almost fifty years ago as a teenager. A friend had given a copy to my father as a going away present, when he set out to emigrate to America. Even though my parents were much too late to homestead or farm, this story gave me a clear understanding of the promise of America for the immigrant. The hero of the narrative is a poor day laborer's child on one of the large estates of the Kaiser's Germany. He grows up in a one room cabin, which is shared by the livestock, if any. As a teen he emigrates to America.He does not find the streets paved with gold. Life is never easy. A son almost dies of diphtheria. Home made carts set to run on the rails, are demolished by trains. Bad years come after good. Hired help is difficult to find. But with hard work, honesty, a devoted wife, and time he builds a good life, a family and farm in Iowa. Nothing like this would have been possible at home. Richard Trost has given us a clear translation, which lovingly reflects the idealism of the original. He also has given careful attention to Americanizing the frequent north German dialect expressions of the original. Anyone who is interested in the immigrant experience will find this book a must reading. It is also a very enjoyable story.